Apple tree variety named `MIKI LIFE`

ABSTRACT

An apple tree variety bearing early maturing fruit easily coloring in warm weather, having a greenish ground color and bright red overcolor with red stripes, and having a coarse flesh which is very juicy, moderately sweet and with low acidity.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of appletree for a dessert apple, which is an early apple cultivar easilycoloring in hot weather.

This new and distinct cultivar was bred by Seiichi Kudo who crossed`SENSHU` with `TSUGARU` in 1981. The following spring he seeded onehundred seeds of the cross and developed one hundred seedlings in hisorchard (at No. 63, aza Izumida, Ooaza Ishikawa, Hirosaki City, Aomoriprefecture, Japan). In 1988 he gathered the first crop from theseedlings. He selected one tree with brilliant red fruit ripening earlyin the season. For confirmation of the stability of the characteristicsof the seedling, he grafted the budwoods on other trees in 1989 at thesame orchard. Continued observation of the seedlings indicated that thecharacteristics of the variety of the invention are stable, and aretransmitted without change through succeeding propagation.

`MIKI LIFE` is an early ripening cultivar, ripening about three to fourweeks earlier than `KANKI` which is an intermediate ripening varietyalso developed by Seiichi Kudo by crossing `SENSHU` with `TSUGARU`, asdescribed in U.S. plant patent application Ser. No. 08/747,284, filedNov. 12, 1996. `TSUGARU` is the only widely cultivated early varietywhich ripens in the same season as `MIKI LIFE`.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying photographic illustrations show typical specimens ofthe foliage and fruit of the new variety. The colors depicted are astrue as is reasonably possible to attain in color illustrations of thischaracter.

FIG. 1 is a photograph illustrating buds, stem coloration, andlenticels;

FIG. 2 is a photograph showing buds, open blooms, and foliage;

FIG. 3 is a whole plant view;

FIG. 4 is a photograph showing typical bearing characteristics of theplant, along with fruit, foliage, and stem coloration of same;

FIG. 5 is a photograph of typical `MIKI LIFE` fruit;

FIG. 6 is a photograph of `MIKI LIFE` fruit as viewed from the stalkcavity;

FIG. 7 is a photograph of `MIKI LIFE` fruit as viewed from the base;

FIG. 8 shows the pedicel, seeds, seed cavity and flesh coloration of thefruit of `MIKI LIFE`;

FIG. 9 shows the fruit in cross-section; and

FIG. 10 is a photograph of the foliage, including petiole and stipules.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIETY

The characteristics of the new variety `MIKI LIFE` are as follows, withcolor description provided according to the Munsell Color Chart.

Botanical name: `Malus domestica`.

Tree: The tree is precocious and vigorous, of medium size (smaller than`FUJI` and about the same size as `JONATHAN`), with spreading habitsimilar to `TSUGARU`, and producing many lateral shoots and spurs. Thetree is not strong, is intermediate between a spreading style and astraight style, and spreads gradually beyond the central leader. Theangle of the branches is of medium width, and fruit is borne on shortfruit branches. The color of new treetops is light green. The color ofdormant branches is dark reddish brown and lighter than in `FUJI`.Thinning by cutting more branches than average is necessary to promotegrowth of a large number of branches because `MIKI LIFE` tends to haveshort fruit branches. Picking one fruit in 3.5 to 4 terminal buds isappropriate for obtaining fruit of the disclosed size. Production oflateral flower buds is less than in `TSUGARU`.

Bark: Dark reddish brown, with relatively high density of medium size(around 1 mm) lenticels which are round in shape and yellow in color.

Shoot: The shoot is of medium thickness and the internode is about 1.7cm, which is shorter than in `TSUGARU` cultivated in the same orchard,which has an internode of about 3.0 cm.

Leaves: The leaf is medium size, the length/width ratio of the leafblade being medium. The leaf margin is wavy with crenate serrations. Thelength of the leaf blade is about 9.44 cm, the width is about 5.68 cm,the petiole length is about 3.05 cm. The leaf color is dark green(Munsell 7GY2.5/4). The reverse side of the leaf is dull yellow greenand is covered with more fuzz than in `TSUGARU`. The petiole is dullyellow green, with anthocyanin coloring on the reverse side. The stipuleis elongated, with a length of about 0.82 cm. Fertilization is desirablefor preventing the leaves from turning yellow.

Flower: The flower is of medium size (about 4.04 cm in diameter). Theunopened flower is of a strong pink color (Munsell 1R6/12). The flowerhas five petals of egg shape, and about 20 stamens. The color of theanther is light yellow. The color of the bud is light pink. The time offlowering is midseason, being similar to `TSUGARU` and `KANKI`. In theabove-mentioned orchard at Aomori, blooming starts around May 9, fullbloom is around May 14, with flowers falling around May 18. `MIKI LIFE`has intermediate self-fertility. The flowers need thinning by pickingflowers other than the center flower of terminal buds.

Fruit:

Shape.--The fruit is of medium size (around 245 g-280), which is smallerthan in `KANKI`. The shape is round with slight crowning. The ribs areindistinct. The aperture of the eye is medium in size. The base cavityand the stalk cavity are of medium depth and breadth, more shallow andwide than in `TSUGARU`. The stalk is of medium length (about 2.1 cm),which is longer than in `TSUGARU`, and of medium thickness with distinctswelling at the end.

Flesh.--The flesh is yellowish white, very juicy with moderately sweettaste (Brix 13.4) and low acidity (acid 0.294 g/100 ml), good crispnessand quality. The flavor is medium and the fragrance intermediate. Thefirmness is medium, and the texture of the fruit is coarse. Browning isheavy. The mature fruit has no water core.

Skin.--The ground color is greenish yellow. The over color (blush) ofthe skin is bright red (more red than in `KANKI`), with clear stripes.The skin has medium small lenticels, is moderately shiny, with lowgreasiness, and is smooth without bloom, and has little rust, if any atall, and little mottling. There is no cracking tendency of the skin.

Core.--Conical and small in size, not clear, with five core chambers, around cross-section and an egg-shaped longitudinal section pointed atthe top.

Calyx.--Medium in width (wider than in `TSUGARU`), medium in depth (moreshallow than in `TSUGARU`).

Seed.--Seeds are numerous and obovate, of medium size.

Harvest season: Early harvesting, around August 28-September 10, whichis 10-15 days ahead of `TSUGARU`. The time between blooming andharvesting is about 118-123 days. Harvesting should be divided into twoor three harvests according to the ripening of the fruit.

Storage capacity: Moderate, which is longer than for `TSUGARU` and isfairly good for an early cultivar. The fruit retains its taste for aboutone month under normal cold storage. After more than one month ofstorage the fruit gradually loses firmness and acidity but retains itsflavor.

Use: `MIKI LIFE` is a good variety for dessert apple.

Resistance: `MIKI LIFE` has intermediate to strong resistance to powderymildew and Alternaria blotch. It develops very little, if any, coremold. The fruit of `MIKI LIFE` grown on `TSUGARU` or `FUJI` rootstock isabout 50 g bigger than the fruit of self-rooted `MIKI LIFE`, but thefruit color and taste are the same.

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct variety of apple tree, substantially asillustrated and described herein, bearing early maturing fruit easilycoloring in warm weather, having a greenish ground color and bright redovercolor with red stripes, and having a coarse flesh which is veryjuicy, moderately sweet and with low acidity.